The Saint Mary's Gaels and San Diego State Aztecs kick off the Continental Tire Main Event on Friday night. Both schools come in with a rich history of basketball excellence. Saint Marys has been the lone team to test Gonzaga regularly in their conference this century. At the same time, the Aztecs have had solid teams dating back to when Kawhi Leonard wore black and red.
Both teams are 2-1 to start the season, which is surprising — especially for Saint Marys, who lost to Weber State as a double-digit favorite, and San Diego State lost to BYU as an underdog but did not come close to covering a 2.5-point spread, losing by nine. This game could be a turning point for two teams that could be second-weekend NCAA Tournament teams.
Playing at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+, sports bettors and college basketball fans should tune in for a fun, high-scoring game. The Aztecs and Gaels average 78.3 points per game offensively, and both have star players who can fill it up.
Live odds for St. Mary's vs. San Diego State
Here are the live odds for the moneyline, spread and point total from the top online sportsbooks for St. Marys vs. San Diego State.
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Saint Mary's Gaels betting news
The Gaels have not had the start they wanted, but the good thing about college basketball is that, unlike football, a single loss does not sink a team's season. Saint Mary's has yet to play their best basketball, and after losing, some contributors are still figuring out their rotation.
One unquestioned player in the rotation is Aidan Mahaney, who has stepped up to be the team's leading scorer through three games after finishing last season as the second-leading scorer. Mahaney had two great games to start the season, both in wins for the Gaels.
But Mahaney struggled in the loss to Weber State. He had a rough night with only 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting as the defense focused on him. Going from Robin to Batman can be challenging — Mahaney is now the first guy on the opposing team's scouting report.
Saint Mary's will need to get their 3-point shooting back up to par. The Gaels shot 37.2% from three last year but are only shooting 27.7% this season. If Saint Mary's shoots below 30% as they did against Weber St. (18.5%), it is tough to see them beating San Diego State.
San Diego State Aztecs betting news
San Diego State is a solid team that could have another deep tournament run this season.
Jaedon LeDee only scored 7.9 points per game last season but has taken a considerable jump to start his senior campaign. He is scoring 25 points per game with great efficiency, shooting 62.6% from the field. Transfer Reese Waters won Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year last season and transferred to San Diego State looking for a more significant role.
He has gotten that role and delivered through three games, scoring 15 points per game. He's been impressive from deep, shooting 42.9% on 4.7 attempts per game from three.
It is not just LeDee and Waters, though; the Aztecs have two other players averaging double digits, Micah Parrish with 11.7 ppg and Lamont Butler with 10.3 ppg. San Diego State will be a dangerous team if they keep getting a balanced output from the entire team, and LeDee is a 20-plus point-a-game scorer.
Saint Mary's vs. San Diego State prediction
Saint Marys has fewer players producing consistently than the Aztecs. Even if LeDee has a down game, players like Waters, Butler and Parrish can step up and fill the gaps. That will likely lead to SDSU coming away with a big momentum-building win on Friday night.
Pick: San Diego State
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